Jerry Lee Lewis

Songwriter: Traditional

Producer: Jerry Kennedy

All around the watertank
Waitin' for a train
I'm a thousand miles away from home
Sleeping in the rain

I walked up to a brakeman
Just to make a line of talk
He said, "Son if you've got money"
"I'll see that you don't walk"

Well, I haven't got a nickel
Not a penny can I show
Well, get off, get off, you railroad bum
He slammed the boxcar door

Well, he put me off in Texas
A state I dearly love
Wide open spaces all around me, Lord
The moon and stars above

My pocketbook is empty
My old heart is filled with pain
I'm a thousand miles away from home
And I'm waitin' for a train

Jerry Lee Lewis was a leading figure in the popularization of rock & roll during the 1950s. He was first signed to Sun Records in 1956 where he was labelmates with Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, and other early rock artists. Of those musicians, however, he was the only piano player and combined with his heavy-handed playing style, sexually suggestive lyrics, and provocative stage antics he came to epitomize the rebelliousness of the genre.

He rose to international fame for his 1957 versions of the songs “Great Balls of Fire” and “Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On.”

Lewis' popularity rapidly tumbled, however, when in 1958, when at the age of 22, he married his 13-year-old cousin. Though this scandal continued to tarnish his image, Lewis never retired from music. As of October 2015, he continues to perform live.

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